Liquid dispenser



July 1l,` 1939..

J. OLSON El'- AL LIQUID DISPENSER Filed April 2, 1958 Patented July 11, 1939 PATENT OFFICE LIQUID DISPENSER.

John Olson and Harry E. Dahlstrom,

Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 2, 193s, Serial No. 199,677

4 Claims.

This invention relates to liquid dispensers and more particularly to that type of .dispenser which is adapted to be mounted in the mouth of a bottle to permit the pouring oi measured quantities of liquid from the bottle'.

One of the objects of our invention is the provision of a liquid dispenser which quickly and accurately dispenses measured quantities of liquids from a container in a smooth flowing stream which will run freely without inuence from differences between atmospheric pressure and the pressure in the container.

Another object of the invention is a provision of a dispenser which can be used a number of times in quick succession without awaiting any appreciable period of time between each use thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved valve means for aiiecting such dispensing, this valve means being fool proof in operation and subject to no appreciable wear.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a. sturdily constructed and compactly arranged device which will agreeably blend in with the shape of a bottle neck.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the views, and,

in which- Fig. 1 is a vertical section through our dispenser and the upper portion of a bottle;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view similar to Fig. l With the device and bottleneck in pouring position;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing there is shown a substantially uniform cylinder 5 within which is slidably mounted a piston 5. The piston iits within the cylinder for free sliding movement, but the space between the piston and the cylinder wall is so small that ordinary liquids will not pass Ibetween the two elements to any appreciable extent. The inner or lower end of the cylinder is provided with a irusto-conical iiange 'l which has integrally formed therewith a cylindrical sleeve 8. The upper portion of said sleeve is provided with a shoulder 9 against which is seated a washer element Il, and a rubber or other suitable stopper or sealing element II is iitted on the sleeve 8 with its upper or outer portion seating against the washer I. Within the sleeve 8 a ringshaped member I2 is secured as by a pressed t and said ring-shaped element carries concentrically therewith a circular open guide I3, said guide being supported by the ring by a pair of webs I4. The guide I3 is adapted to slidably carry a hollow piston rod I5. The piston rod is secured at its upper or outer end to the piston 6, the latter being open in its central portion where said piston rod is secured thereto.

The inner or lower end of the hollow piston rod assembly I5 is provided with one or more small apertures I6 and one or more substantially larger rectangular apertures Il, the rectangular apertures being spaced inwardly from the end of the piston rod relative to the smaller apertures I5.

The inner or lower end of the hollow piston rod assembly I5 is provided with a small hollow bolt 22 which is screwed into the end of the rod, said bolt being adapted to slidably support a tapered valve I8 which has an outer radial flange I9 and an inner radial iiange 2|. Since the bolt 22 is of less diameter than the piston rod I5, the valve will slide upon said bolt between the head of the bolt and the shoulder 20 formed by the end of the piston rod. It will be noted that the small opening I6 is actually in the hollow bolt 22 which is a part of the piston rod assembly. With the valve in the position shown in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 2, the larger rectangular air openings II are uncovered and the smalleropenings I6 are closed by said valve. With the piston rod in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the valve comprising the elements I8 and IS has dropped inwardly against the end of the piston rod closing the larger openings I'I and exposing the smaller openings I6.

On the upper and outer end of the main cylinder 5 is threaded a bulb-like element 23 which forms a chamber for receiving liquid from the cylinder 5. As shown, the inner diameter of the bulb 23 is greater than that of said cylinder. The bulb is provided with a central opening 24, and, if desired, a pouring spout 25. Extending inwardly from a point adjacent the dispensing opening is a sleeve-like air inlet 26 which terminates appro-ximately in the center of said bulb and adjacent the outer end of the cylinder 5.

In operation the piston rod is inserted in a neck of a bottle or other container and the device is firmly secured in the mouth of the bottle by seating the rubber stopper element within said mouth. The device is then in a position shown in Fig. l, and is ready for use. The bottle is then inverted to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the pistonrod and piston will slide downwardly from the standpoint of the inverted position until the valve comprising the elements I8 and I9 seats against the inner end of the sleeve 8. Before the piston rod begins its downward travel, however, said valve will drop to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 thereby covering the openings H and exposing the smaller openings I6 in the end of the piston rod. Liquid will now from the bottle through the sleeve 8 and around the piston rod l5 to the upper side of the piston 6. As liquid flows in against the upper side of the piston, said piston and rod Will move downwardly through the cylinder 5 and finally the piston will move out of the end of the cylinder and into the bulb 23. When the piston and rod have reached the full line position shown in Fig. 2, the valve at the upper end of the piston rod will have seated against the sleeve 8, as above described, thus preventing any further flow of liquid into the main cylinder 5. Since the bulb 23 is of greater inner diameter than the main cylinder, liquid will ow around the piston and out of the dispensing opening 24. During this dispensing operation, pressure is equalized within the bottle since air Will flow through the air inlet 2Q in the bulb, up through the hollow piston rod I5, and out of the smaller apertures i6 at the inner end of said piston rod. This provi-des a smooth steady ow of liquid during the dispensing operation. When one measured quantity of liquid has been dispensed, the bottle is returned to its normal upright position, and the piston and rod will return to the position shown in Fig. l, the valve elements I8 and I9 also returning to the position shown in Fig. l, thereby exposing the larger piston rod openings H to permit a larger quantity of air to flow out of the bottle through the piston rod and permit rapid return of said piston.

Not only does the small air opening I6 provide for a smooth outflow` of liquid, but the speed of such flow can be controlled. If the liquid flows into the cylinder with too great rapidity, it has been found that the quantity Will vary in successive dispensings. It is therefore pointed out that the opening or openings I6 must be large enough to permit relatively rapid and smooth dispensing, but small enough to prevent too sudden a rush of liquid from the container.

We wish to stress the rectangular shape of the -enlarged air openings H in the piston rod I5.

Naturally such openings are limited in size due to the restricted diameter of the bottle mouth and the consequent restricted diameter of the piston rod. With a rounded air opening it has been found that frequently drops of liquid will cover the enlarged openings and retard the passage of air or stop it completely due to the fact that the piston and piston rod are naturally made of very light material and do not exert any great pressure. With the rectangular openings, however, as shown it has been found that drops of liquid would not form in said openings.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a liquid dispenser for containers, a chamber adapted to be supported in communication with the dispensing opening of a container, a piston movable in said chamber, a slidable hollow piston rod secured at its outer end to one side of said piston and communicating with the other side oi said piston, said rod having a restricted opening and an enlarged opening in an end thereof, and valve means associated with said rod for closing one or the other of said openings,

2. In a liquid dispenser for containers, a chamber adapted to be supported in communication with the dispensing opening of a container, a piston movable in said chamber, a piston rod secured to said piston and adapted to slide axially of said chamber, said piston rod including means for admitting relatively small quantities of air to said container during movement of the piston and rod in one direction in said chamber, and said rod also including means for quickly eX- hausting at least a portion of the air in said container during movement of the piston and rod in the opposite direction.

3. The structure in claim 2 and means on said rod for cutting off communication from the interior of said container to the atmosphere when the piston and rod are in one of their extreme positions.

4. In a liquid dispenser for containers, a chamber adapted to be supported in communication with the dispensing opening of a container, a piston slidably mounted within said chamber, means for admitting relatively small quantities of air to said container during movement of said piston in one direction in said chamber, and means for quickly exhausting at least a portion of the air in said container during movement of the piston in the opposite direction.

JOHN OLSON. HARRY E. DAHLSTROM. 

